


Tales of the Forgotten Kingdom

by Band_G33k



Category: Sword Art Online (Anime & Manga)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-09-27 18:34:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 12,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20412412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Band_G33k/pseuds/Band_G33k
Summary: a group of friends along with thousands of others, trapped inside a death game known as Tales of the Forgotten Kingdom. seeing that the only way out is a gigantic tournament of swords is their only way out. what adventures could await them? read and find out





	1. Chapter 1

In all of my life, I have never forgotten what happened those two years that I was gone. I had enough advenrures to last me a lifetime. But I will never forget the atrocities committed by the creator of that death game!

Let me start from the beginning. I am Paul, my friends call me JP. I lived in the town of Jacksoville, Alabama with my friend Sam. Some would have even called us brothers. We were very close. We were roommates. When we had learned that a new game was coming out, there was just no resisting the urge to buy it. It was the first full dive game to be released after the Nerve Gear went world wide. Of course we jumped on that peice of hardware as soon as it came on the market here in the states. This new game came out called Tails of the Fallen Kingdom. We were going to go buy our copies. I come into the living room of our small two bedroom, one bath apartment I yell for Sam, "Hey, bro. If we want our chance to snag two copies of the game, we need to leave now."

He yells back, "Yeah, yeah. I'm ready. Let's go." We get into my 1967 Chevy Impala and head to the Quintard Mall in Oxford, the only place near us with a Gamestop. We go into the mall and head straight to the Gamestop. There was a crowd of nerds that have already flocked to the store in anticipation of the launch of the game. Sam says, "Aw, fuck. The damn store is surrounded already." I put my hand up to silence him as i raise my phone to my ear to call someone.

The person at the other end answers. I say, "Hey Joseph. You said you could get us in. Where are you?"

Joseph says to me from the other end of the phone, "I'm in the store. Come around back so i can let you in." I lead Sam around the store into a corridor that leads to a door that says, employees only. I knock on the door and a man with a thick beard and has his hair done up in a man-bun opens it. He says, "Ok guys, it took some time and effort, but I got you guys two copies. Now get the fuck out before someone sees."

I say, "I can't thank you enough buddy. Are you getting a copy?"

He says, "Are you fucking kidding me? I went to hell and back to get you those copies. Of course I fucking got one. See you in there." Me and Sam wave buy to him and we hide our games so that the nerds don't see.

We leave the mall and get in my car. We go home. As we walk into our home, we look at each other and nod. He goes to his room and I go to mine. I hook up my Nerve Gear and put in the game. I put on the headset and lay in my bed. I press a button on the side of the headset before my mind is shut down and transported into the game.

I find myself in a menu sequence. I chose what I look like, and what my name is. My username is Band_G33k.

I see colors flash before my eyes and I find myself surrounded by light until everything materializes around me.


	2. Chapter 2

Everything materializes around me. I look around and find myself in the stone courtyard of what I assume to be the starting town. Suddenly, I get a popup in front of me saying, "Welcome to Southwind. You will find in your inventory, a pouch with 200 Gold Points(GP) in it. There is a marketplace not far from here. Go and choose your weapons wisely."

I look around and see a lot of people are already on. Someone comes and taps me on the shoulder. I turn around to see a tall, blonde-headed person whose username is Lucien Algear. Along side him is a burly man with a thick black beard whose username is . It takes a second for me to recognize them as my friends, Sam and Joseph. I smile and high five both of them. Sam says, "We did it. We're inside of a video game."

I say, "Yep, it's so cool. And it feels so real. The sights, the smells, the feelings, all of it."

Joseph simply nods and says, "So, you guys wanna hit up the market and see what we can get?" Me and Sam both nod as we start to make our way to the market.

As we are heading to the market I accidentally bump into a rather short person with short red hair that sort of covers her face. I accidentally knock her down when I bump into her. She hits the ground making a small sound as she does so. I turn around and help her up saying, "I am so sorry miss. I didn't see you there."

She says to me, "It's OK."

There is a long awkward silence between us for a minute before someone comes up behind her saying, "Hurry up Izzy. The lines are getting longer by the minute."

Izzy nods at her saying "Ok, Cris."She says bye to me. I wave at her and turn to go find my friends who seem to not have noticed me stop.

After a minute of wandering around the absolutely huge marketplace, I find them in a store called, 'Argyle's Swords, Daggers, and other Wares.' I walk in and get a warm greeting from the person at the counter. I wave at him and I go over to my friends. Sam is standing along side Joseph. Sam seems to have already purchased his gear. To be honest, Sam looks like Altaïr from Assassin's Creed. He has a white cloak with a hood that partially covers his face, he has a short-sword that hangs on his belt, and he has a Dagger in a sheath at his side. Sam speaks to me, "Hey, my dude. Where did you go?"

I say, "I accidentally knocked someone down. I just helped them back up." Sam nods. I say to him, "I like the look bro."

He nods and says, "yeah, it is pretty cool. And look at this." He holds his arms out and out of both of his sleeves come two hidden blades.

I marvel at them for a couple seconds before saying, "Dude. That is so cool. You are like a character from Assassin's Creed."

He nods and says, "Yeah. That's kind of what I was going for."

Joseph notifies us that he is done shopping. He looks pretty cool. He has leather armor on with steel plated armor going across his chest and down his Left arm. On his back there is what looks like a two-handed battle axe. I take the time to go shopping for my gear. My friends making comments on what looks good. I finally settle on a pretty good look. I am wearing standard leather armor with chainmail under it. The chainmail is a little bit longer than the leather armor so it comes out of the sleeves and below just a little bit below my waist. Along with that I am wearing heavy pants. On my back there is a one-handed longsword underneath a sturdy wooden shield. We plan to go out and explore when we are suddenly teleported into what I assume is the really big arena that I saw on the way into town. It was pretty hard to miss it because of how big it is.

All 4000 of us players are looking around not knowing what to do when a loud voice booms all around us, "Welcome, My good people, to my world. I am your game master. All of this exists because of me." some of us start clapping and cheering others stay quiet in an effort to find out what is happening. The voice speaks again, "I choose not to reveal myself to you at this time, but know that I will always be watching. Many of you have already noticed that there is no log out option. This is not a defect, this is the way the game is supposed to be. As of right now, none of you can leave this game until it is cleared. Many of you would say that this will be easy. But take caution my friends, for if you die here the Nerve Gear will send a shockwave of energy into your brain and fry it, thus ending your life." almost everyone is either panicking or furiously yelling at this disembodied voice. It speaks again, "Now, now my good people. There is a way out. In thirty days time, there will be a tournamet to decide who is the best player in the game. The qualifiers start tomorrow at 6:00AM. For the qualifying rounds there will be no killing. You will use the dueling mechanic to beat your opponent's health into the yellow. When that happens, you will win the duel. Make it through the qualifyers then it is on two the main tournament, where each battle will be a battle to the death. When a winner is decided. They will get the opportunity to access my admin terminal to set everyone free. Good luck. Keep leveling up. And I hope to see one of you very soon. Goodbye." The voices leaves the arena.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as the voice left the arena I could feel an atmosphere of panic everywhere. many people started to run frantically out of the arena, others are sitting on the ground crying in panic. I looked around and saw the girl I bumped into comforting her friend that was with her. I say to Sam, "Take Joseph, go outside the arena and wait for me there. I'll tell you the plan once I get there." he nods and I run over to the person that I know as Izzy.

I say, "Hey. Can I talk to you?" she nods and I say, "I know we haven't met before except for that one time that I knocked you down, but me and my friends are gonna go to the next region over. There are bound to be lots of hunting spots, maybe even some dongeons. I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?"

she looks me up and down and says, "Why do you really want me along?"

I

say, "alright, if I'm being honest, you look tough. You look like you know what you are doing. Me and my friends are pretty good when it comes to fighting, but we need a powerful. player on our side." I try to read her facial features and body language to find some hint of an answer, but I find nothing. She stays quiet looking at me with a very serious face.

She says, "As long as we work together and this isn't me protecting some weak party of noobs, I'm in. So is she." she says pointing to her friend who waves at me.

I say, "hey, we may be green, but we aren't completely inept. If we level up enough I'm sure we'll be exceptionally good players."

She nods and says, "Alright, lead the way." Her friend gets up and they follow me through the small crowd of people that are still in the arena.

I say to her, "By the way, my username is Band_G33k."

She says, "You can call me Isabela."

I nod at her words and I keep leading the two to the outside of the arena where we meet Joseph and Sam. Isabela stops however, she seems to be talking to her friend. I decide to give them their privacy. After a moment Isabela comes up to me. I say to her, "What happened to your friend?"

She says, "She decided to level up as best as she can here, and she says she wants to help other people who are still in a panic. I'll stay with you, you are right, we need to go to the next region over if we want to have any hope of leveling up fast."

I nod and we walk over to my friends. I say, "hey guys, this is Isabela. She has agreed to come with us. Isabela, these are my friends. The guy who looks like an assassin is Lucien Algear, you can call him Lucien for short if you wish." Sam waves. I point to Joseph, "This is our tank, his username is ."

Joseph says, "You can just call me Joe. I don't give a fuck about people knowing my real name."

I say, "OK, now that everyone has been introduced, this is the plan. We're gonna head to the next region over. It's about a day's hike but it will be well worth it. This place will be picked clean within the next few hours so we should go ahead and get a head start." They all nod and we start to make our way towards the next region.

Four Days Later...

I'm now level 26 and I've found this awesome sword in a dungeon. I got it from a boss that is called 'The Hero of Time' It has a cool special ability that is called 'Divine light of the goddess'. I haven't used it yet, I'm saving it for a rainy day or maybe another boss. Isabela has gotten to be good friends with all of us. I have signed up for the qualifiers in our region. I haven't told the guys yet. I come back to the inn that we're staying and I see Isabela and Joseph sitting in the room. I don't see Sam however. I ask Joseph, "Hey, where is Lucien?"

He shrugs and says, "I haven't seen him since this morning.

I nod and I say, "well, I did it. I signed up for the qualifiers."

Isabela stood up and said, "Why?"

I say, "Because I can't just sit on my ass and do nothing. I need to help in any way that I can."

She says, "No one is asking you to play hero here. In case you forgot, you're life is on the line."

"I know that, but this is just the qualifiers. The worst that will happen is me getting booted out."

She says, "I'm not worried about you getting booted out. I'm worried about you making it to the big tournament."

I thought for a moment and I say, "Why do you even care, You don't know me that well."

She says, "Even though I've only known you guys for a short time, I think about you as friends, and I hope you think of me that way too."

I look down and I say, "Of course I do Isabella. What I'm trying to say is, it is my choice and if I die, that is on me."

She begins to protest again but eventually she surrenders. Sam comes back to the room and I say, "Hey bro. Where have you been?"

He looks at me and says, "Just a bit of hunting and farming XP."

I nod. I decide not to tell him about signing up in an effort to not upset him right now.

Isabella gives me the death stare until Sam leaves the room. When he is out of earshot she says, "Don't you think he needs to know?"

I say, "I'll tell him, just not now. He obviously has alot on his mind, he doesn't need my drama to worry about.

She asks, "When is the first qualifier?"

I say, "the one for this region is tomorrow morning."


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up the next morning, and quickly get my armor on. I pick up the Master Sword by the strap and i sling it on my back and I sling my shield on top of it. Isabella starts to wake up. She looks at me and says, "When does the match start?"

I say, "8 o'clock." She looks at the clock to see that it is 5:00AM.

She says, "Why are you up so early?"

I say, "I'm just going out to prepare and get in some last minute leveling."

She says, "Hey, let me come with you. You need someone to make sure you save some of your strength."

I nod as she puts her gear on. We go out into the field just outside the town. We take stances about ten feet away from each other. I pull my sword from its sheath and I ready my shield. She pulls two daggers from their resting places on each side of her hips. She takes a stance, ready to begin. I send her a duel request, she accepts it and the countdown begins. I take my stance putting my shield out in front of my while readying my sword to strike. 3...2...1...Begin. We both run at each other and she makes the first move. I block her daggers with my shield while singing my sword at her. She parries my attack with her other dagger. She knocks my shield out of the way and slashes at my chest bringing my health down a little bit. We exchange blows for a while until we are both almost to the yellow. I run at her, jump and slash my sword at her. She blocks it with one dagger and slices my chest. With that move, my health drops into the yellow. The duel ends and she wins. I am breathing heavily at this point. I feel my heart beating hard in my chest I sheath my sword and Isabella comes over to me and puts her hand on my chest, and she starts to breath slowly

She says, "Match my breathing Band_G33k." She smiles, "That is such a fucking dorky username."

My breathing slows and I chuckle. "It was all I could think of at the time."

She asks, "Seriously. What is your name."

I look at her, "I don't think I feel comfortable telling you my real name."

She says, "Oh come on. chances are I'll die anyway."

I say, "Don't say that. you have a better chance than me. I'm the one who is going into the death tournament."

She says, "You know what, I can't let you do this alone."

I say, "Isabella, I've made up my mind."

She says, "I know that I can't change your mind. That is why I'm trying out too."

I say, "You know you could die right."

She says, "Yep."

I say, "we might end up fighting each other."

She says, " I'll sign up for Division 2. There is no guarantee that I'll make it to the tournament."

I nod and stay silent. There is a comfortable silence between us for a couple minutes.

She says, "So, about that name." I smile and she says, "Oh come on. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

I say, "I thought Isabella was your real name."

She says, "No. The name Isabella comes from a book that I wrote. My real name is Sidney."

I say, "I suppose that I can trust that you are not a fat old man who created a girl avatar."

She laughs and says, "I modeled my avatar after how I really look, its pretty close but there are little differences."

I say, "Yeah, me too."

She says, "Name?"

I say, " Paul. My friends call me JP or just J."

She says, "Ok then J,"

A bell in town starts ringing and I say, "That's our cue. Let's go." We stand up and start toward the town.


	5. Chapter 5

Me and Sidney walk through the town to the square. There is a sign-up table there I go up to it and sign my name for division A. Sidney signs her name for division B. We go through to a large area where the match up lists are. I am fighting a guy named Dyrk Wigan. I think to myself, "Holy fuck, that name is majestic." I look at the schedule and see that my match is first. I say to Sidney, "I gotta go. My fight is in a few minutes."

She says, "Ok J, I'll be cheering for you from the crowd.

I nod at her and we go our separate ways. I head to the entrance tunnel where I am told to wait. The NPC that told me to wait gives me the signal to go. I run into the big arena in the courtyard. The crowd cheers as I come out.

I see my opponent emerge from the tunnel at the other side of the arena. We meet in the middle and shake hands. I say, "May the best player win."

He nods and we walk back to our spots. I draw my sword and get my sheild ready. He takes out what looks like a flail with spikes on the end of it. I receive a duel request and I accept.

The countdown begins. I take a moment to breathe slowly as the clock ticks down. 3...2...1...GO! He runs at me with the flail swinging above his head. I run at him, he swings at me. I block it with my sheild. He keeps swinging it at me, I block them all easily but he is backing me into one of the corners of the arena. My back hits the wall and he swings again, I move out of the way and the flail hits the wooden wall behind me. It gets stuck in the wood. As my opponent tries helplessly to pull it out, I take this opportunity to do a critical fit across his chest I knock him to the floor. He tries to get up and I slash his chest again deeply. His health goes into the yellow and I win. The crowd cheers and I look around for my friends. I see Sidney sitting next to Joseph, but I don't see Sam anywhere. I wonder, "Where could he be?" I eventually shrug and I am ushered off of the dueling ground.

I go into the crowd and I find Sidney and Joseph. I take my seat next to Sidney. I inquired as to the whereabouts of my brother and none of them know. I drop him a message wanting to know where he is then I relax and watch the rest of the days matches. Sidney wins her match with ease. It was against someone who has no idea what they were doing. After the day we head back to the inn.

Once we get back Joseph says, "So I joined the qualifiers in another region. They start the day after tomorrow."

I say, "So I'm guessing you have to leave?"

He says, "Yeah, If I lose out I'll come right back. And chances are, I'll get booted out early."

Sidney says, "Stay safe. Or I'll have to come over there and kill you."

I walk Joseph out. I say, "Hey dude, good luck."

We do a bro hug and he says, "Hey, here's an up side. Me going away will give you and her some alone time."

He winks at me and I say, "Really dude? No. I don't even think that she likes me. And also we're just friends." He gives me a look of disbelief and I say, "Whatever, smug bastard. Go on, I'll see you later. Keep in touch."

He nods at me and begins to walk down the road. I go back into the room and I get a message from Sam, " I'm Sorry JP. I just need some time away from everyone to collect my thoughts and find out my place. You most likely won't see me for a while. Give Isabella my best and give Joseph a fist bump for me."


	6. Chapter 6

I go into the room and I sit on the couch. I must have had a look on my face because Sidney sits next to me and says, "What's wrong J?"

I say, "It's Lucien. Apparently, he needs time to be on his own."

She says, "I figured that he would be the type to solo it for a while."

I say, "Yeah, I'm just kind of disappointed. This was supposed to be a game that me and him we're going to have awesome fun in together. I guess fun jumped out of the picture when this became real."

She says, "All I can say is that, once he has figured it out he will come back right as rain."

I say, "Thanks Sid."

TIME SKIP

The next few weeks went by fairly fast. I used my downtime to learn as much as I can about how the tournament works. Basically, Each of the five regions have their own qualifying tournaments. At the end of the respective region's qualifiers two winners will come out on top because there are two divisions. One winner will go into bracket A and the other into bracket B. Then each bracket will have five people in it. One person will move on to round two whereas the other four will match up in two 1v1 fights. The winners of the two fights will fight to see who will move on to face the extra person who has made it to the semi finals. The winner of that battle will move on to face the winner of the opposite bracket. Those are all the details I have learned.

Now I know what you're thinking, and no I did not spend all of my downtime studying the tournament. I spent some time training by myself and every now and then go farming xp and hunting dungeons with Sidney. We've gotten to be pretty good friends. I can tell that she is one of those people that, when you make friends with them they stand by you through pretty much anything if not everything. I have developed some feelings for her, but I haven't had the guts to tell her because I'm still pretty sure that she doesn't like me like that. I'm sure I'll work up the courage to do it at some point.

The qualifiers for this region hasn't been all that eventful. There really haven't been any very good challengers. I came out on top for my bracket. Sidney came out on top for hers. There is still another week until the big tournament starts. the brackets for the tournament are going to be released tomorrow at 6am.

I walk into the living room of the newly bought small house that I decided to get. Hey, if we're going to be here for a while why not stay in comfort. I see Sidney siting on the couch reading a book. I sit down next to her she glances at me and acknowledges my existence. I say to her, "Can I talk to you for a few minutes?"

She puts down the book and says, "Sure what's up J?"

I say, "I've been wanting to tell you this for a while now and I suppose that this is the best time to say it, seeing as though we are a week away from the death tournament."

She says, "Spit it out JP. What do you want to tell me?"

I take a deep breath and I say, "I like you as more than a friend. I have since the time we trained before the first qualifier hell, even before that."

She stays silent for what feels like forever. Finally she smiles and starts laughing at me. She laughs at me. "What are you laughing at?" I ask nervous she is rejecting me.

"You are such an idiot." She chuckles before she leans over to me and kisses Me. I'll be the first on to admit it, I didn't think she would return my feelings. After a few minutes she pulls away with a small smile on her face. "Does that answer your question J?" She asks me. Instead of answering her I just lean in to give her another kiss. She seems to have been taken off guard as I pull her I to my lap. I bite her lower lip in holes she would open her mouth. Upon opening her mouth my tongue darts in to explore my new territory. She moans softly as i run my hands down her sides. She puts a hand on my chest pushing back before panting. "Bedroom..." I nod in understanding as i start to stand up. She wraps her legs around my waist as i make my way to my room. As soon as the door is closed I feel her kissing my neck. She quickly finds my soft spot. I moan as she attacks it. I carefully drop her on the bed. I believe that she thought it was her cue to start taking of her clothes. In seconds she was standing in her undergarments. Damn... She looks amazing. She chuckles as she points at me. "Take a picture it lasts longer." I couldn't help but laugh at it. "Come on I don't want to be the only one with their clothes off." She wines playfully. I take of my shirt and pants leaving myself in my boxers. A smirk makes its way across her face as she takes the rest of her clothes off. I slide of my boxers off and climb on top of her. She leans up kissing me as she wraps her legs around my waist. I kiss her then start kissing down her neck till I hear her moan.

"Ready?" I ask her.

"Oh come on already you idiot." She says to me. I slid into her slowly as I watch her face contort in slight pain.

"Shit. It's your first time." I say as I stop.

"Don't stop... it feels good..." she moans out. Not wanting to disappoint I start moving. Quickly picking up pace she moans louder saying my name. "Shit right there!" She cries out. Not wanting to displease her I keep going. "I'm... close..." she moans out.

"Me... too..." I pant out. In the matter of seconds she cries out in pleasure and I soon follow her in her release. I pull out and lay down beside her.

"That was awesome." She pants curling into my side.

"Perfect." I reply pulling her into me more.

"Hey Dude I have an id- My god you two!" Joseph yells from the open doorway. "I need to bleach my eyes!" He cries covering his face as both me and Sidney laugh.


	7. Chapter 7

Sidney and I sat in the bed for a while before I got up and started to collect my clothes. I put my pants on and I sit on the bed while putting my shirt on. She had gotten up and is half dressed when I look over at her. I say, "So, what does this mean for us?"

She says, "What do you mean?"

I say, "I mean, was this just a one time fling or could this be more."

She says, "Do you want it to be more?"

I say, "Yes, I do."

She says, "Then yes. I guess we can try to be together."

I say, "You realize that one of us is probably going to die. Right?"

She says, "Then lets enjoy it while it lasts." She comes over and tenderly kisses my lips before saying, "Now, I think you need to go talk to Joe."

I nod and I say, "Oh, yeah." I go out into the living room to see Joseph sitting on the couch. I say, "So..."

He says, "Don't worry, I knew that this would eventually happen at some point. I didn't want to find y'all in that position though, Damn."

I playfully punch him and say, "Well, you were right. We ended up together. Are you happy?"

He chuckles and says, "Yeah. I made it to the big tournament."

I say, "Wow, thats pretty cool. Me too." I hear a voice coming down the hall, "Me three!" Sidney emerges from the hall and sits down next to me.

Just then I check the time, "Hey, there going to announce the participants soon."

Sidney says, "Cool, maybe we'll get more of a challenge this time."

Joseph says, " I actually had quite a good challenge for my qualifier."

I say, "Well, we didn't." I get a notification from my menu. I open it and I see the lists for the tournament participants. In my division is a guy named VanossGaming. Holy fuck, this guy is a youtuber, cool. Another one is named Stormaggedon. He looks like a complete fucking noob, but I guess looks can be deceiving. Next is Joseph. Its cool that he is in my division unless I have to kill him. That is actually making me really nervous. Finally there is a guy named The Hellhawk. He looks very skilled. I'm gonna have to keep an eye on him.

And on the other bracket is Sidney, someone who has a Japanese name, a guy named TechnoG3ak, and a name that will haunt me for the rest of my days, Lucien Algear.


	8. Chapter 8

I stare at the name for a good 10 minutes before closing my menu screen. I stand up and I start to walk around the room. I say keep saying over and over, "Why didnt he tell me?" Sidney gets up and places her hand on my shoulder lovingly in an attempt to calm me down. I immediately start towards the door. Before I go out, I say, "I'm gonna go take a walk. I'll be back later."

I go out the door and start walking down the street from the house. I messege Sam saying, "Why didn't you tell me?" I continue walking. I come to a small pond. I just sit by it and I start throwing rocks, attempting to skip some of them. Not all were successful, but it relieved some stress.

I get a message from Sidney saying, "Hun, you need to come on home." I look at the time and I see that it is 12pm. I sigh and I start to come back. As I step through the door, Sidney gets up from the couch and says, "Sweety, you ok?"

I wave her off and say, "I'm fine."

She says, "You know, I've learned over the years that, when you say 'I'm fine' you usually don't mean it." I sit down on the couch and she sits with me, putting her chin on my shoulder.

I say, "I just don't have the faintest idea why he wouldn't tell me something like this. I mean, I know I didn't tell him, but he disappeared before I got the chance."

She says, "I don't know the extent of your relationship with him, but I'm sure he has his reasons."

I nod and I say, "I suppose so."

TIME SKIP

I wake up and I check the time. I roll over to wake up Sidney. She is literally impossible to wake up. I say, "Hey babe. Today's the day. Time to get up." She whines and rolls over. I say, "Sid, Come on, we need to get up." Again, she whines and rolls over. I get frustrated and I say, "Sidney wake up!" I shake her as I say this.

She opens her eyes and sits up and says, "Ok! I'm up."

I say, "come on today is the opening ceremony, my match, and Joe's match." She nods and we both get up and get dressed. We go out into the living room. I see the familiar sight of blonde hair. Sam is sitting on my couch. I say to Sidney, "Can you give us some privacy? I'll call you back when we're done talking."

She says, "Don't take too long." She kisses me on the cheek.

I go over to face Sam. He stands up to meet me and he says, "I'm sorry JP."

Before he can say another word, I punch him directly in the face. I say, "What the fuck do you mean 'your sorry'? You don't talk to me for weeks playing this distant bullshit act. You disappear out of the blue, sending me this bullshit text when you could have just told me the fucking truth and I would have told you that I'm in it too. Goddammit Sam, you better have something alot better than 'your sorry'."

He says nothing for a while until finally saying, "I know what I did was wrong and that you deserved better treatment than that. I just didn't know how to tell you until I saw the participants bracket. I know that doesn't excuse me from what I did, but I don't have any other explanation. And so I have come here to say, I'm sorry."

I think about it for a few seconds before saying, "You could have just told me. Even if I wasn't in the damn tournament, I would have supported you all the way. I wouldn't have liked it but, I know how fucking hard it is to change your mind." We both chuckle slightly. I say, "I'm sorry for punching you."

He says, "Don't worry about it bro. I deserved it."

Sidney pokes her head in and says, "Is it safe yet?"

I say, "Yeah, come on in." She comes in and we all sit on the couch.

Sam says, "So, I saw you guys come out of the same room. Are y'all...?"

I say, "Together? Yes we are. It happened about a week ago."

Sam nods his head and says, "That's pretty cool." We all hear a bell sound coming from the colosseum. We all make our way to the teleporter and we go to the colosseum from there. My battle is first. Joseph and Sam go into the seating area and Sidney comes with me to the entrance of the tunnel.

I turn to her and we hug tighter and longer than we ever have. She pushes away from me and says, "Don't die."

I say, "I don't plan on it."

She pulls me into a long drawn out passionate kiss. When she pushes away she says, "I love you."

These three simple words make my heart beat at least 1000 beats per second, or that's what it felt like. I don't say anything for a couple of seconds before I genuinely say, "I love you too." She goes back to the seating area and I turn to start going through the tunnel.


	9. Chapter 9

I step out of the tunnel to be greeted by a roaring crowd. My opponent steps out from his tunnel, making the crowd roar once again. A voice booms around the arena. I look to see that the voice is coming from a special box above the crowd where a shady man in a nice suite and sunglasses stands. He opens his arms wide and says, "Welcome, my good people, to the opening ceremony of the Forgotten Kingdom Tournament of Champions!"

The crowd roars as he says this. I guess a month is all it takes for the people to be desensitized enough to be excited for this.

He says, "Now, to introduce our first two contestants! All the way from Akaro region, this man defeated the Hero of Time and claimed the Master Sword for his own! Give it up for Band_G33k!"

The crowd give a very loud cheer for me as I raise my sword in the air. It starts to glow, I spin around in a helicopter type movement as the sword releases a burst of energy that fills the arena.

The man speaks again, "A wonderful display Band_G33k." He points to the other side of the arena and says, "And from the region of Southwind, The owner of the mystical teleporting daggers, Stormageddon!"

Stormageddon starts to show off with his daggers. He throws one of them and it lands right in front of me and he appears in front of me where the dagger is. I put my best poker face on as he smiles. I try to figure out how it works, as there is no real magic system in this game. He teleports back to his spot. As he does this, I see it. He isn't teleporting at all. I see a faint line going towards the dagger. He is just moving too fast to see. There must be a coding in the daggers where, when he throws one, he is allowed, temporarily, to move super fast to get the dagger. I can win this if I just get the timing right.

The shady man speaks again, "Good luck to the both of you! Let the tournament commence!" There is a timer set above us counting down from ten. I take my stance and prepare myself for a battle to the death.

3...2...1...GO! I don't hesitate to run forward as he starts to throw one of his daggers. I watch intently as I count the seconds until he supposedly teleports toward me. There seems to be a one and a half second delay from the time that he throws the dagger to the time that he gets to it. No that I am confident about how to deal with it, I move forward and I swing my sword at a second after he throws the dagger. I hit him with the blunt side of my sword and I knock him down. I begin to mercilessly attack him until he finally pushes away. He gets a few good hits in before I knock him down again. This time he is unable to get back up. I hear voices from the crowd screaming for me to kill him. I quickly come to my senses. I come off of survival mode and I see what is happening. I don't want to kill him, but I also know that if I let him get back up then he will kill me. I say to him, "I'm sorry." Before I thrust my sword into his chest and his life meter goes into the red and finally depletes to zero. His body disappears into a cloud of smoke.

I hear the crowd roar as the man starts to speak in a grand tone of voice, "And that's It! The winner is Band_G33k !" I am ushered out of the arena by NPCs. I meet Sidney at the opening of the tunnel leading to the outside. I fall to my knees and she embraces me stroking my hair.

I say, "I've never hurt anyone in my life. Let alone kill someone. How am I going to do this?"

She says, "I can't tell you that, because I don't know. I'm thinking about it in the way that it is self defence."

I say, "But while I was fighting, for a few minutes, I felt like I was enjoying it. I lost myself and my humanity."

Tears stream down my face as we continue to embrace. Sidney says, "I don't know what to say other than, if you feel like your humanity is slipping, look for me in th crowd. I will always be in the same spot. I'll show you once we go to take our seats. Speaking of which, I don't think we can stay here much longer." She gets up and offers me a hand to get up. I slowly take it. She says, "Come on, lets go. Joseph's match is up next."


	10. Chapter 10

I take my seat next to Sidney. I am still gathering my composure as the next two contestants are announced. Joseph is up against that guy named HellHawk. He wields two curved daggers that have poison skills attached to them.

Joseph goes into a stance, readying his axe. HellHawk does the same with his daggers. 3...2...1...GO! They both charge at eachother. HellHawk has tremendous speed. Joseph has longer range though, so it's anybody's game at this point.

Joseph rushes to get a few good hits in while avoiding those daggers like the plague. I would too, poison damage is very dangerous in this game. For a long time, it becomes a bloody stalemate.

Joseph swings his axe and HellHawk evades with lightning speed. With this open opportunity, HellHawk slices Joseph in the back across his right shoulder blade. Joseph tries hard to fight back but it becomes hard as the poison courses through his body. He gets little time to fight back as he is mercilessly assaulted by his opponent.

I stand up and scream out to Joseph, "Come on man! You can just give up like this! Get up and fight!"

He seems to have heard me and he attempts to get up. He successfully blocks an attack, leaving an open window to realise a barrage of attacks. Joseph brings HellHawk to low health. A dark shroud begins to cover the two daggers.

I look in awe and shock. "Oh my God!"

Sidney looks up at me, "What is it?"

I say, "He has one of the other rare skills in this game. The opposite skill to my 'Divine Light of the Goddess', 'Darkness of the Demon King'. Get out of there Joseph!"

He doesn't hear me and instead charges in with his battle axe ready. HellHawk pushes him to the ground with a wave of dark energy, and while Joseph is on the ground, he drives both daggers into his chest deeply until his health goes into the red and finally depletes to zero.

I yell out, "Joseph, no!" I go to my knees on the ground for a couple of seconds while Sidney is attempting to comfort me. I get up and look directly at HellHawk with a furious look on my face. I make a promise to Joseph, "I will avenge you, my friend. He will die."


	11. Chapter 11

I get home after the day concluded. While Sidney went to work on dinner, I went to our room in an endeavor to be alone for a while. It finally set in that one of my dearest friends is dead. I lay on the bed for a long time before I hear the door open.

Sidney pops her head in and says, "Sweetheart, dinner is ready."

I look at her and I say, "I'm not all that hungry. Don't wait up for me."

She says, "Paul, come on you need to eat."

My eyes widen, she has never called me by my first name before. Seeing that she isn't going to give up, I get up and go to the living room where she has laid out both of our plates on the coffee table. She sits down on the couch and picks up her plate. I sit down next to her and I do the same.

She glances at me as I finish my plate. "J, I know how hard it is to loose a loved one. It creates a hole in your heart and you cannot refill that hole until it heals. I'll always be here for you." She lays her head in my shoulder and I put my arm around her we sit there for a few minutes in a comfortable silence until she says, "Come on. You need to get some sleep, so you can be fully rested for tomorrow." I nod and we make our way into our room. She lays down on the bed and I lay down beside her. I put my arm around her and fell asleep not long afterwords.

TIME SKIP

I wake up to see that Sidney is still asleep. I carefully try to get up. She stirs and looks up at me, "What time is it?"

I look at her and smile, "It's 5:30AM, I'm gonna go get in some early morning workouts and training."

She makes a small noise and says, "No. Don't go, come here."

I try to protest, but i just couldn't resist those eyes. I lay back down beside her. I put my arms around her as she clings to me like a koala bear.

A few hours pass and I look at the clock. I try to move but she just clings to me tighter. I say, "Babe, we need to get up." She whines and buries her head in my shoulder. I say, "Really? Come on. My match starts in an hour. I need to get ready." She nods and loosens her grip on me. I get up, shortly followed by her. I put on my armor, and i equip my sword and shield. After she gets dressed and equipped, we head for the arena.

We come up to the entrance of the tunnel. I turn around and we crash into a hug. She says, "Don't die."

I say, "I don't plan on it."

She says, "Remember, he is fast you be faster. Also remember the special skill he has."

I say, "How could I forget?" I look down.

She grabs my face and i look at her. She says, "I love you."

I say, "I love you too." I lean in and our lips meet for a long drawn out kiss. She pulls away and goes to find a seat.

I make my way down the tunnel until I'm told to wait just outside the arena. I hear my gamer tag announced. I run out to be met with a roaring crowd. I look around and my eyes meet Sidney's. She gives me a thumbs up and I give one back. Then i hear the name of my Opponent. He comes out with a different weapon. He pulls out a long sword that looks like a dark version of the Master Sword. He isn't playing around with this one. He points the sword at me. I draw the Master Sword and I do the same. His eyes widen in shock. Maybe he didn't know that I had it or didn't pay attention. We take our stances as the countdown begins. 3...2...1...GO!

We race towards eachother with tremendous speed, and we clash in the middle sending a shockwave throughout the arena. We continue to clash again and again. I block some of his attacks with my shield. I got a few good hits in and he gets a few good hits in. Overall, it's a bloody stalemate. Everytime I would chip his health away, he would chip at mine. This went on for what felt like an hour. He finally got very frustrated and I saw his blade become shrouded in darkness. His skill is activating. The only way I can defend this attack is if I activate my skill.

A pure white light surrounds the blade of my sword. I feel the power coming from my sword. We begin to run at each other. We clash a couple times until we get locked into a pushing battle. It goes on for a few minutes before I knock his sword out of the way and I punch his stomach with the hilt of my sword. I take this opportunity to do a critical hit across his chest. He becomes dazed and I begin to hit him without mercy. I speak as each hit lands, "This, is for Joseph! This, is for his mourning family! And this, is for me!" I finally plunge my sword through his chest and his health goes away fast until it finally depletes to zero. His body disappears into a cloud of smoke. As the dust around me clears, the crowd begins to cheer. I collapse from exhaustion.

I wake up in mine and Sidney's house on our bed with Sidney sitting beside me. I say, "Hey." She looks down at me and she hugs me tightly.

"Your health was almost gone. You barely made it out of that fight alive." She slaps me on the shoulder and says, "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

I sit up and hug her tightly, "I'm so sorry. I guess I was so blinded by rage that I didn't pay attention to my health gauge. It will never happen again."

She says, "I can't loose you."

I say, "And you never will."


	12. Chapter 12

The semi finals against that youtuber VanossGaming was more of a joke than a match. I wiped the floor with him. I have secured my spot in the finals. Today begins the division 2 matchups. And it is Sidney's first match. She is fighting against that guy with the Japanese name. I go into the living room to see her sitting on the couch.

I say, "Hey you. How are you feeling."

She says, "I think I can beat this guy, ive been studying his stats all morning."

I say, "Well, dont run yourself ragged. One of the best ways to prepare for a fight is to be well rested."

I sit down next to her and I go in to hold her hand. Our hands interlock and she lifts my arm up and for no reason, she bites it, not hard but kind of playful. I didn't really care that she was doing it. I was just confused. I say, "Why?"

She says, "Because." And continues to bite me starting to leave a small red mark.

I eventually submit to my position. She continues biting my arm for a while until we eventually need to go to the Arena.

We make our way to the Arena. We stop at the tunnel entrance. I say, "Here we are again."

She says, "Yeah, but this time it's me going into the arena."

I say, "Don't die."

She says, "I don't plan to."

I say, "You better not. Or else I'd have to find a way to resurrect you, and if you make me have to do that then I'll have to kill you."

She laughs and begins to lean in. Our lips meet in a meaningful kiss. We hug and I go to find my seat.

Sidney's POV

J goes off to find a seat and I turn towards the entrance of the tunnel. I walk down until i reach the opening to the arena. Here we go, he shouldn't be that hard to beat, but he could be hiding something that I'm not expecting. My name is announced and I run out to the arena to be greeted by a roaring crowd. I look around, taking in my surroundings. The name of my opponent is announced and he comes out. He has a two handed long sword and no sheild. We meet in the middle and shake hands. We back up and I take my daggers out and get into my stance. The countdown starts

3...2...1...GO! I run at the other guy with my daggers poised to strike. He tries to block but I quickly knock his sword away and slash his chest. This goes on for a while until his health gets dangerously low. I see an opportunity and I throw one of my daggers into his chest for the killing blow. His body disappears into a cloud of smoke.

I join J in the stands as the next match starts

Paul's POV

Sidney killed it, no pun intended. Now it is time for the next match. I hear the crowd roar as the first contestant comes out. Then I hear the announcer say Sam's gamertag. I look up to see my brother walking out of the tunnel on the opposite side of the arena. After a few moments the battle commences. Sam sticks to fighting with his sword for a while until he sees an opportunity to release a barrage of attacks from his hidden blades. He does this mercilessly for most of the fight, not letting his opponent get away. I see his face for some of it, he is smiling. I feel like he is enjoying this a little bit too much. He doesn't stop attacking until his opponent's health is fully depleted. He raises his hands as the crowd roars. Me and Sidney look at eachother. I say to her, "I'll be home later. Go on home."

I confront Sam at the tunnel exit. "Hey bro. I just saw your match."

He says, "Yeah, it was awesome wasn't it.

I say, "I don't think 'awesome' is the term i would use there. Maybe, merciless or slightly psychopathic."

He says, "Oh, come on. Don't you think your exaggerating just a little bit?"

I say, "Actually, not at all. Throughout the entire fight, you kept a perfect smile. It's almost as if you enjoyed killing this poor guy."

He says, "You know what? I don't like where this is going. It sounds like you're accusing me of things and I really don't like it."

I say, "I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just telling you what I saw, and that I'm worried about you."

He says, "Well, maybe I don't need or want you to worry about me!"

I say, "There is no need to get angry, I'm just saying that you need to realise that these are reall people that are actually dying."

He says, "I know that. I'm just trying to survive."

I say, "You can survive and still keep some of your goddamn humanity. If you get desensitized to this shit, then you will lose yourself altogether."

He says, "You know what? I don't give a fuck anymore! What is a few lives if it means that I get out of this place?"

I say, "Are you fucking serious?! You realise that if you keep competing then eventually you will face me. If you kill me. Will you even show remorse?"

He says, "So be it. If I have to kill you, then that is just another body to add to the pile."

I say, "Do you even hear yourself?!" I look into his eyes and I see no hint of mercy or regret. My brother is gone. I say, "You're completely gone aren't you? My brother has been replaced by a monster."

He says, "You know what? I will not hesitate to kill you, or your little girlfriend."

I say, "No, I didn't believe you would. Goodbye Sam." I don't wait for him to talk again before I walk away and start to head home.

I walk in to see Sidney sitting on the couch. She looks up and says, "Hunny, what's wrong?"

I say, "I just talked to Sam."

She says, "Oh, yeah. About Sam, I don't intend to go down easy."

I say, "I know. Do what you have to do. My brother is gone. He was killed by the monster that now lives in his body."

She says, "I am so sorry."

I say, "It'll take me a while to get over it, but I think in the long run I'll be fine."

Sidney pulls me into a tight hug and we stay that way until we finally decide to go to bed. We fall asleep in each other's arms.


	13. Chapter 13

Today is the day that Sidney is supposed to face Sam. I wake up to see Sidney staring at the ceiling. I look up at her and I ask, "Penny for your thoughts."

She says, "I'm just nervous. I'm facing your brother today."

I say, "I've already said, he is no longer my brother. Do what you have to do."

She says, "I know, but I still hate that I have to do it."

I say, "Come on, how about we get your mind off of it."

She says, "What do you mean?"

I begin to kiss all the way up her shoulder lovingly reaching the soft spot on her neck. She moans lightly as I continue to kiss around her neck. My hands roam her body.

She says, "Come on J, not right now."

I say, "Why not babe?"

She says, "We don't have time. We need to leave in 10 minutes if we want to get up on time."

I smirk and say, "Who says I can't do it in 10 minutes?"

She chuckles and says, "Get up you idiot."

I start to get ready and Sidney comes around and kisses me tenderly on the lips. I smile and we continue to get ready.

We make our way to the arena and like so many times before we stop just outside the tunnel. She turns to face me and says, "I am so sorry I have to do this."

I hug her tightly and I say, "He is no longer my brother. Just make sure it is fast." She looks up at me and wipes a tear off of my cheek. I didn't even realize I had been crying.

She says, "I love you. See you afterwards." We share a quick kiss and we part ways.

Sidney's POV

I walk down the tunnel until I come to the opening. I hear the announcer call my name and I run out to meet the crowd. I look around and mainly stay towards my end of the arena.

Then I hear Sam's gamertag announced. He walks out very calmly looking straight forward at me. We don't bother to meet in the middle and the countdown starts.

I draw out my daggers and take my stance. He takes out the sword on his side and points it at me.

3...2...1...GO!

We run at eachother full speed and clash in the middle, I lift up my daggers to block an attack. He is merciless but I need to stay strong.

I knock his sword away for a moment and quickly slash his chest. After he regains his balance he comes after me again in another round of merciless attacks. I parry most of them but he lands a few good hits.

I get some hits on him and we are both down into the yellow area on our health bars.

His sword glows as he activates his skill. I activate mine and we clash, sending a shockwave throughout the arena. I push him back, sending his sword flying into a piece of wood.

He looks surprised for a second but he takes out gis hidden blade and the fight continues. We clash a few times before I see an opening. I puch him in the side and I throw my dagger into his chest. He falls to the ground and I go up to him to grab my dagger. As I bend down to get it he grabs my hand and says, "Take, care, of, him." His health bar goes down to zero and he disappears into a cloud of smoke.

Paul's POV

I look down as the battle draws to a close. He was my best friend. He was my brother. He died a long time ago, killed by a monster. Now he is set free. Goodbye my brother.


	14. Chapter 14

We get home after the day concluded. Me and Sidney Make some dinner. After we get done eating I lean onto her shoulder lovingly. She kisses my forehead and I say, "You missed." She rolls her eyes and kisses my lips.

We both chuckle. I sigh and look down. She says, "I'm sorry for your brother."

I say, "you did what you had to do. I'll be ok." She says nothing and we continue to cuddle.

She says, "I think we should call it a night." I nod and we make our way to the bed. We each change into our sleep wear. She lays down and I lay down with her putting my arm around her.

The next day

I wake up with Sidney's hair in my face. I try to get up without waking her up. Good thing this woman could sleep through a tornado.

I go to the kitchen. And start to make some breakfast for Sidney when she walks in and says, "Do you have any idea how sexy it is to see a man making breakfast for his girl?"

I say, "Well, if you want to..."

She leans in and stops inches from my lips and says, "After breakfast, big guy." She kisses my nose. I go back to making breakfast. We eat breakfast. After that she pulls me into the bedroom by my shirt.

I lay next to her with a smile on my face. It goes away and she asks, "What's wrong J?"

I say, "After this semi-final you will either die, or we will have to face eachother in the final. I don't want either of those things to happen."

She says, "I know it's hard, but promise me that you won't jeopardise the freedom of all of these people for me."

I say, "I don't know if I can promise that."

She says, "The only thing that matters is that everyone gets back to the real world. My life is a small dot in the massive big picture."

I say, "If you were the one to defeat me. Would you kill me?"

She says, "It would be the hardest thing I have ever had to do. But I would do it."

I sigh and say, "I guess we'll just have to see. Or maybe, we can draw out the game master by one big act of defiance."

She says, "What do you mean?"

I spend some time explaining the plan to her and she says, "It might work, but it's risky."

I say, "I know. I've thought about it alot."

She says, "If you're sure." She looks at the time. We gotta go, my match is in an hour."

I say, "Ok, let's go."


	15. Chapter 15

Sidney won the semi-final easily. It wasn't all that interesting. We are getting a two day break before the final. We have decided to spend as much time as we can with each other before having to face eachother in battle.

I am laying on the bed with my eyes closed, maybe if I don't open my eyes the days will go slower. I feel a gentle kiss on my lips and I smile. I open my eyes as I begin to kiss back. We smile into the kiss, I sigh, as she breaks the kiss.

She looks at me and says, "what is it?"

I say, "These days are gonna pass in a flash."

She says, "I know, so we need to make the most of what time we have left."

I say, "That is exactly what I was thinking." I pull out a small brass ring.

She says, "What is this?"

I say, "Read the description."

She taps on it and reads it aloud. "Wedding Band?" She looks at me with confusion.

I say, "We've been together for a while now, and we probably won't be for much longer if the plan doesn't work. So for the next two days that we have with eachother. Will you do me the tremendous honor of being my wife?"

She covers her mouth as tears come to her eyes. I become nervous for a second before she nods and says, "yes, JP. I will."

I put the ring on her finger and I say, "Well, since there isn't a real marriage mechanic in this game then I guess we can just promise eachother."

She says, "Yeah, I guess so."

I say, " Well, in that case. Sidney, I before the sight of God, promise from this day forth to love and to honor you, till death do us part."

She says, "JP, I wholeheartedly promise to love you through everything, till death do us part."

We both smile and I lean in and we share a kiss.

As we part, I say, "There we go."

She says, "Yep."

And for the next two days, we just layed there in eachother's arms. Wanting desperately for tomorrow not to come.


	16. Chapter 16

I wake up with her in my arms, I look up to the ceiling and I dread what is to happen in the next few hours. If my plan works out then we will have nothing to worry about. the time draws near as she begins to stir.

She says, Hey baby.

i say, "Hey." We share a quick kiss. I look at the time. "It's almost time."

She looks at the clock and says, "Mine."

I say, "Yours. Always and Forver." We hug tightly for a few minutes before we need to get going. We both gear up and go to the arena. we stop at the front of my tunnel, like so many times before. I turn to face her and we look into eachother's eyes. it is then, when I could not hold it anymore. We embrace as I start to sob and cry.

She pulls back and says through her tears, "Don't die."

I smile and through my tears i say, "I'll try not to." She lets go of me and we keep eye contact until she disappears around the corner. I go down the tunnel until I meet the gate to the inside of the arena. I get focused as the gate opens and my gamertag is announced.

I walk slowly and calmly out into the arena with the crowd cheering my name. The announcer then Calls out Sidney's gamertag and she walks out similar to how I did. we meet in the middle and no words are exchanged as we professionally shake hands.

the announcer then says something else. "A message to our competitors. The game master is in attendance today. So fight well, and become the hero of the fallen kingdom."

We take our places on opposite sides of the arena. I take out the Master Sword and my shield and I take my stance. The countdown begins.

The next ten seconds are the longest ive ever had to endure. 3...2...1...GO!

I grip my sword and I run at Sidney who parries my blow and goes to leave a cut on my stomach. i block her with my shield and I go for another blow, this time hitting. as all of this is happening I'm dying inside. Here i am, fighting the love of my life in a battle to the death. we continue to exchange blows as the fight draws out. I start to lose and I think to myself, "My plan won't work if she beats me. I'm sorry my love." I activate my special sword skill, 'Divine Light of the Goddesses' My blade golden yellow and I begin to land blows on her pushing her health from yellow into the red. She loses her balance and falls down. She gets on one knee and bows her head as i Come towards her. I go to swing my sword as if I am going to finish her off. I throw my sword and sheild on the ground. she drops her daggers and I pick her up and put her on her feet.

She looks at me confused, "What are you doing?"

I say, "I won't kill you. trust me baby." I turn and I address the crowd. everyone gets really quiet to try and hear me. "No More! No more killing! No more dying! I challenge the Game Master! A fair fight, you and me!" Sidney gives me a death glare and I make eye contact with her as I mouth "Trust me" Just then, a middle aged man with navy blue armor and a sword with a golden handle on his hip.

He says, "You wanted me. Here I am."

I say, "I challenge you."

He says, "Yes, yes, you said that already. What are your terms?"

I say, "If I win, I get admin privileges so I can set everyone free. If you win, you can kill me and the tournament rules will stand. Isabela wins. and, this has to be a fair fight. No invincibility, no advantages beyond the skills of your weapons and avatar.

He nods his head and says, "Very well. Let's get this over with." I pick up my sword and sheild and I get into my stance. He draws his sword. I look the sword up and down. A gold handle that goes down to a steel blade. He says, "Do you like it? Its name is Excalibur." The strongest weapon in the game. matched only by the Master Sword. I close my eyes for a moment and I get focused.

The countdown begins. 3...I will not lose. 2...For Joseph, for Sam! 1... For Sidney! GO!

My eyes open as I run at my opponent. My sword glows green as I activate a sword skill. as our swords clash, it sends a shockwave throughout the arena. This happens each time we clash. we exchange blows here and there. He is the strongest opponent i have faced, but i will never lose. I'm getting nowhere, I have to use it. My sword glows Golden yellow as I activate my special. I run at him and our swords clash. I break through his defence and his health drops into the yellow. His sword glows a dark red and I prepare to receive the blow. Our swords clash and it is the most powerful move I've seen from this game. I can't hold him any longer and I fumble with my sword and he breaks through. Blow after blow after blow he keeps mercilessly hitting me. My health drops from yellow into red. I am on the ground with my face in the dirt, barely holding on to my sword.

The Game Master flips me over with his foot and he talks to me. "Oh, my friend, you had so much promise. for a time I thought you could do it, you know. If only you had been a good boy and played the game. Oh well, once you are dead my work will have been achieved." He thrusts his sword into my chest deeply. my health drops some more. I look over and see Sidney, on the ground tears running down her face uncontrollably. I furrow my brow and I look up to my opponent.

"I'm...not...done yet." I grab the blade that is in my chest and I pull it out and try to fight back. I grip my sword and I swing it up to cut off the hand that is holding the sword. Excalibur falls to the ground and He falls back holding the place where his hand was. I pick up his sword and I begin to land blows on him.

Before I can land the finishing blow, be presses a button and he disappears. A voice calls out, "Fine. You win, here are your admin privileges." A pop up comes up saying, "Do you accept admin privileges?" I select yes.

I go over to Sidney and She hugs me tightly. I chuckle and say, "Don't hug me so hard my love. The rest of my health might go away." She backs away and looks at me apologetically. I say, "Baby I'm just kidding."

I open my menu and I see a button that says, "Log out all"

I say, "Let's go home." I press the button and everything goes white around me.

I wake up in a white room, I take off the nerve gear and I see that I am hooked up to a heart monitor. I say to myself, "I'm in a hospital."

A doctor comes into my room and says, "Oh, you're awake. the game is cleared then?" I nod and I look down with a thoughtful look on my face.

I say, "Do you guys have a patient here named Sidney?"

The doctor looks confused and says, "I'm sure we have lots of Sidneys. What is her full name?" I tell him her full name and he says, "I'll look her up, in the meantime, you need to get up and walk around just start walking around your room. press the button on your arm if you need anything." I nod as I sit up in the bed.

over the next week I went through rehab until I could walk freely again. I found out that Sidney is at the hospital in UAB. Today I am being discharged and I am going straight to UAB.

I have driven from Jacksonville to Birmingham. and I am about to go into the hospital. I am very nervous. I guess even in a full dive game, it is much easier to meet someone online. I go in and I ask for her and the person at the front desk directs me to her room. I go into her room after knocking to see a woman with blonde hair done up in a pony tail. sitting next to the bed which has Sidney laying there. she is still in a coma. I look confused as I introduce myself properly to Cris who informs me that Sidney has been this way ever since the game ended.

I say, "But shouldn't she have woken up by now?"

Cris shrugs her shoulders and I sit down on the other side of the bed. I stay with her for a few weeks barely getting any sleep. I get a call one day. I answer it, "Hello?"

A voice that I know all too well comes on the line, "You thought this game was over? My friend, it is only beginning.


End file.
